Madison Office
Tel: (608) 283-2618
Fax: (608) 294-4913

Fred Gants

Partner

Fred Gants is a member of the firm's Labor & Employment Practice Group. As a management lawyer, he has used his background and experience to represent companies in a variety of matters, including defense of discrimination complaints, employer counseling, traditional labor including collective bargaining and unfair labor practice charges, and representation on OSHA matters and citations. Fred has represented employers in courts and before state and federal agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, across the country.

Representative Experience

  • Defense of a wholesale distributor before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in which it was held that a terminated employee suing for breach of contract may not bring a lawsuit in tort for misrepresentation, and that a wrongful discharge lawsuit cannot be brought where an at-will employee is terminated for failing to sign a noncompete agreement.
  • Successful defense of an age discrimination claim for a large nonprofit organization.
  • Successful negotiation of collective bargaining agreements for employers that include significant production and profit incentives.
  • Successful representation of employer through 5-month strike and defense of numerous unfair labor practice charges.
  • Investigation of death and dismissal of OSHA citation.

Legal Services

  • Labor & Employment
  • Research Institutions
  • Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition
  • Banking & Financial Institutions

Education and Honors

  • University of Chicago Law School (J.D., 1976)
  • Yale University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1972)

Bar Admissions

  • Wisconsin

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2006
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, 1988
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 1976

Professional and Civic Activities

  • State Bar of Wisconsin (Member: Former Member of Board of Directors, Labor and Employment Law Section)
  • American Bar Association (Member, Labor and Employment Law Section)
  • Dane County Bar Association (Former President)

Professional Recognition

  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rated
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2008–present: Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; Litigation – Labor & Employment)

Publications and Presentations

12/17/18
It's the (Flu) Giving Season: Employer Responsibilities in Preventing the Spread of Seasonal Flu
Insight & Impact - Labor & Employment Newsletter

12/14/18
Digging a Deeper Hole: OSHA's New Program to Target Trenching and Excavation Activities
Labor & Employment Alert

11/19/18
Be Ready: 300A Data May Trigger Inspections Under OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting Program
Labor & Employment Alert

10/24/18
Union Organizing Trends
Union Organizing Article Series

09/20/18
In Another Hot Summer, Preventing Workplace Heat Illness Looms Large
Insight & Impact - Labor & Employment Newsletter

06/20/18
Insight & Impact: Labor & Employment Regulatory Update

03/08/18
Insight & Impact: Labor & Employment Regulatory Update

02/27/18
Supreme Court Narrows Definition of Whistleblower Under Dodd-Frank
Labor & Employment Alert

12/08/17
Insight & Impact: Labor & Employment Regulatory Update

09/22/17
Wisconsin's Right to Work Law Upheld by Wisconsin Court of Appeals
Labor & Employment Law Alert

08/29/17
Insight & Impact: Labor & Employment Regulatory Update

06/12/17
Department of Labor Shifts Course on Joint Employment and Independent Contractor Classification
Labor & Employment Alert

05/30/17
Insight & Impact: Labor & Employment Regulatory Update

01/13/17
Checkmate: Dues Checkoff Limitations In Wisconsin's Right To Work Law Found Preempted By Federal Law
Labor & Employment Alert

10/27/16
At Last! OSHA Issues Guidance "Clarifying" Its Anti-Retaliation Regulations
Labor & Employment Alert

05/24/16
The Public Gets To See What? OSHA’s New Electronic Recordkeeping and Anti-Retaliation Regulations
Labor & Employment Alert

03/09/16
Who Wants to Be a Whistleblower? OSHA's New Whistleblower Investigations Manual Makes It Easier to Be a Whistleblower
Labor & Employment Alert

11/04/15
​OSHA Penalties Set to Increase August 1, 2016, Following the Federal Government's Bi-Partisan Budget
Labor & Employment Law Alert

08/06/15
OSHA Will Not Be Stopped: OSHA’s “Clarification” to Extend the Statute of Limitations on Recordkeeping Violations
Labor & Employment Law Alert

05/07/15
Department of Labor’s Proposed Overtime Rules Sent to Office of Management and Budget
Labor & Employment Law Alert

03/25/15
Employers Take Note: NLRB Finds Common Handbook Policies Unlawful
Labor & Employment Law Alert

01/22/15
OSHA Form 300A Postings and Revised Injury Reporting Requirements
Labor & Employment Law Alert

08/07/14
Copying Your Attorney Isn’t Enough to Protect an Email from Disclosure
Labor & Employment Law Update

05/30/13
“Employment and Consulting Agreements"
Presentation for National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer

04/12/13
OSHA States Nonunion Employees May Select Anyone as Representative for Inspections
Labor & Employment Law Alert

10/09/12
Collective Bargaining and the Affordable Care Act
Labor & Employment Law Update

09/24/12
Common Employer Work Rules Found Unlawful
Labor & Employment Law Update

05/16/12
NLRB Temporarily Suspends New Union Election Rules
Labor & Employment Law Alert

05/01/12
NLRB's Rule Expediting Union Elections Becomes Effective
Labor & Employment Law Alert

04/17/12
April 30 NLRB Posting Rule on Hold - Court Delays Indefinitely
Labor & Employment Law Alert

03/05/12
Federal Court Partially Rejects Challenge to NLRB Posting Rule
Labor & Employment Law Alert

10/18/11
Employment Practices Liability Insurance - Buyer Beware
Labor & Employment Alert

10/10/11
NLRB Postpones Implementation of Union Organizing and Rights Posting Rule
Labor & Employment Law Update

10/04/11
Update on NLRB Union Organizing and Rights Posting Requirement
Labor & Employment Alert

09/01/11
“OSHA Recordkeeping”
Bongarde Webinar

08/26/11
NLRB Issues Final Rule Requiring Employers To Post Notice of Union Organizing and Other Rights
Labor & Employment Law Update

06/23/11
New Rules Proposed for Faster Union Elections and Broader Coverage of "Persuader" Reporting Requirements
Labor & Employment Update

12/01/10
"Acommodation 101: Addressing Mental Illness and Addiction in the Workplace"
Madison, Wisconsin

08/10/10
Silent Wisconsin Law Provides Basis for Overtime Claim Despite Federal Exemption
Labor & Employment Alert

05/26/10
New Regulations Affecting Federal Contractors and Employers of Minors
Labor & Employment Alert

05/19/10
WFEA Expands Again: Religious, Political and Union Rights Involved
Labor & Employment Alert

04/30/10
For Your Benefits
Issue #4

03/30/10
Obama Administration Appoints Two Union Lawyers to NLRB
Labor & Employment Update

02/24/10
Issue #2
For Your Benefits

08/20/09
Federal Contractors, Subcontractors and Suppliers Beware: Proposed Notice of Employee Unionization Rights Exceeds Expectations
Labor & Employment Update

06/01/08
"Too Darn Hot: 2008 Labor & Employment Law Developments"
Madison, Wisconsin